Archive for the ‘Thoughts’ Category

(Re)gained some perspective on simplicity. Equates not, simple with ease. Simplicity is a state of the generalized without losing its generality. The act of simplification is an act of intricate abstractions. Understanding of the simple requires the understanding of the complex. Simple is not easy; simple is not ignorant; simple is not simple.

What makes us human? The motives of progression? Sadness, anger, fear, and happiness? What wills a person’s relentlessness to pursue the imaginary? The autonomous complexities? The inherent orderings of randomness? If emotions were developed through the ages, why, then, do they only sojourn in our psyches? What is the difference between a human and a machine when he consciously reduces a complex to only subconsciously obtund by its simplistic residue. What about loitering? An inescapable consequence? Or a means to cope with our helplessness? Talk the talk and walk the walk… talk the talk, walk the walk… talk the talk, walk the walk… I hope I remember its anti-pattern.

Rowers have a word for this frictionless state: swing… Recall the pure joy of riding on a backyard swing: an easy cycle of motion, the momentum coming from the swing itself. The swing carries us; we do not force it. We pump our legs to drive our arc higher, but gravity does most of the work. We are not so much swinging as being swung. The boat swings you. The shell wants to move fast: Speed sings in its lines and nature. Our job is simply to work with the shell, to stop holding it back with our trashing struggles to go faster. Trying too hard sabotages boat speed. Trying becomes striving and striving undoes itself. Social climber strive to be aristocrats but their efforts prove them no such thing. Aristocrats do not strive; they have already arrived. Swing is a state of arrival.

I understand it. But, I do not comprehend its intricate relation in space and time. For the past few years, I tried to juggle with my priorities. I kept on coming back to the same place and wondered what had gone wrong. I had flashes of ideas, flashes of lights if you may. I saw clearly what was in front of me. Hell, I even saw the big picture. But, I couldn’t see pass it. So the lights had merely passed by left false hopes along the way. It is indeed a delicate balance between existence and vitality, being and doing. The understanding of the core of what and why I desire is the essence of who I am, its executable reduction is what keeps me alive. The human psyche is fragile and foolish. Only through constant care and deliberate lies can we keep it sane. I think I’m starting to comprehend. Mind like water. An action against it inflicts not overreactions nor underreactions. It reflects a sense of control, a coherent harmony between your character and your litheness. I think I’m ready to be ready for anything.

Recently, Stephen Colbert (the Colbert Report Fame) gave a commencement speech at Knox College. Some bits are quite funny and some are pretty profound. Here is a snippet:

But you have one thing that may save you, and that is your youth. This is your great strength. It is also why I hate and fear you. Hear me out. It has been said that children are our future. But does that not also mean that we are their past? You are here to replace us. I don’t understand why we’re here helping and honoring them. You do not see union workers holding benefits for robots.

But you seem nice enough, so I’ll try to give you some advice. First of all, when you go to apply for your first job, don’t wear these robes. Medieval garb does not instill confidence in future employers—unless you’re applying to be a scrivener. And if someone does offer you a job, say yes. You can always quit later. Then at least you’ll be one of the unemployed as opposed to one of the never-employed. Nothing looks worse on a resume than nothing.

So, say “yes.” In fact, say “yes” as often as you can. When I was starting out in Chicago, doing improvisational theatre with Second City and other places, there was really only one rule I was taught about improv. That was, “yes-and.” In this case, “yes-and” is a verb. To “yes-and.” I yes-and, you yes-and, he, she or it yes-ands. And yes-anding means that when you go onstage to improvise a scene with no script, you have no idea what’s going to happen, maybe with someone you’ve never met before. To build a scene, you have to accept. To build anything onstage, you have to accept what the other improviser initiates on stage. They say you’re doctors—you’re doctors. And then, you add to that: We’re doctors and we’re trapped in an ice cave. That’s the “-and.” And then hopefully they “yes-and” you back. You have to keep your eyes open when you do this. You have to be aware of what the other performer is offering you, so that you can agree and add to it. And through these agreements, you can improvise a scene or a one-act play. And because, by following each other’s lead, neither of you are really in control. It’s more of a mutual discovery than a solo adventure. What happens in a scene is often as much a surprise to you as it is to the audience.

Well, you are about to start the greatest improvisation of all. With no script. No idea what’s going to happen, often with people and places you have never seen before. And you are not in control. So say “yes.” And if you’re lucky, you’ll find people who will say “yes” back.

Now will saying “yes” get you in trouble at times? Will saying “yes” lead you to doing some foolish things? Yes it will. But don’t be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying “yes” begins things. Saying “yes” is how things grow. Saying “yes” leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say “yes.”